


Pepper and Tony

by emmagnetised



Series: All The Little Lights [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Multi, The Avengers Won, The Wyvern, Tony Stark's Sister, one shots, team fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-06 21:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18396563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmagnetised/pseuds/emmagnetised
Summary: Maggie's never had a mission like this before.





	1. Part One

****"Package arrival ETA two minutes."

"Confirm."

"Drop-zone status?"

"Sightlines and airspace clear, everyone's in position."

"Confirm. Over and out."

Maggie tapped the commlink in her ear and turned away from the rooftop edge.

"Maggot, what are you doing? You've gotta stand over here, we've been over this."

She looked up and smiled sheepishly at Tony, who stood to the right of a foliage arc at the center of the rooftop, dressed in a sharp tux with a lily clipped into his lapel. She unconsciously reached up to touch the lily in the lapel of her own blazer and called: "Nothing!"

Tony rolled his eyes and turned to Rhodey, whose exosuit fitted cleanly over his own dark suit. "Did that sound believable to you?"

"Definitely not," Rhodey deadpanned.

A grey-haired woman in judge's robes standing under the foliage arc cleared her throat. "Is there a problem?"

"Nope, my sister is just being sneaky," Tony replied. He turned back just as Maggie took her place beside Rhodey, and narrowed his eyes. "Wait, I know what this is! You're secretly running your own security, aren't you?"

Maggie just raised her eyebrows.

"Maggie, I specifically hired the number one private security firm in the  _world_ so none of the actual guests would have to be on the job–"

"I know, I know, but I promise I'm not distracted! It's just Natasha and I, no one else is involved. I'm sorry."

"Oh it's not just you," Rhodey said. "I'm pretty sure Sam and Clint have been running their own background checks on everyone, I heard them talking about one of the ushers' credit score."

Tony pinched his nose. "Are you guys serious."

Maggie grinned and reached across Rhodey to knock her knuckles against Tony's shoulder. "C'mon, Tony, are you really surprised? You're surrounded by a bunch of the most protective people in the world, of course we want to make sure your big day goes perfectly." He looked up at her with a despairing look. "Now my inside agent tells me the package is T-minus one minute from arrival, so you better start looking less annoyed."

"Maggie, you can't just call Pepper  _the package_."

"Her codename is Turtledove, would you prefer that?"

Tony scowled at her for a second longer, but then the smile he'd been hiding broke through and spread across his face. Maggie returned the warm smile. Tony had been like this all morning, always seconds away from a big dopey grin and a laugh. It suited him.

_Maybe he should get married every day._

Maggie stepped back into position, straightened her shoulders and looked around. Pepper and Tony had chosen to have their ceremony on a rooftop in Tribeca, with a stunning view of Manhattan. Simple white chairs lined the pavestones, dotted with greenery and bouquets of lilies which rustled in the warm early summer breeze that wafted over the rooftop. At the end of the aisle stood a green foliage arc, beside which stood Tony, Rhodey, the officiant, and Maggie.

Rhodey, of course, was Tony's best man. Tony had just assumed that would be the case and gone ahead with his plans until Rhodey had reminded him that he actually had to ask first.

 

* * *

 

A few days after Rhodey had demanded Tony ask him to be his best man, Tony and Maggie were in the middle of a session in the workshop, trying to increase the Iron Man armor's resistance to EMPs.

In the middle of their work, Tony turned to Maggie. "Hey, Maggot."

"Mm?"

"Do you want to be a grooms-person."

She frowned at him. "I don't know what that is."

"Like a groomsman! But a woman. I'm making the term gender neutral, it's the twenty first century already. And I'm an innovator."

Maggie set down her tools. "You want me to be… a grooms-person?"

"Yes. In my wedding, if that wasn't clear."

"I thought it was normally men?"

"Normally, but we've never been very normal, have we?" he shrugged. "And I'm not surrendering you to Pepper's side of the ceremony, she can find her own people. She already stole Happy from me."

"What about Bruce?"

"I did ask if he wanted to be a groomsperson, but he wants to take a back seat. Something about how he thinks being a part of my wedding might be stressful."

Maggie leaned back in her stool, turning over the surprising request. She honestly hadn't expected to be asked. Hell, not too long ago she'd thought she wouldn't be able to make it to her brother's wedding at all because she'd be in prison. Being in the wedding party was a new thing altogether.

After a few moments of thought, while Tony waited surprisingly patiently, a smile spread across her face.

"Is that a yes? That looks like a yes."

She looked up. "Can I wear a suit?"

 

* * *

 

Standing on the rooftop in the summer sun, Maggie glanced down to smooth down her suit. It was the same shade of charcoal grey as Rhodey's (though hers was tailored to fit her body shape) and they both wore lilies in their lapels. She'd also opted for a pair of elegant black heels and finished off the look with soft makeup and curled hair.

But as sharp as she and Rhodey looked, they were just backup for Tony; and he looked like he was right in his element, nodding to the assembled guests as he stood in his sharp black tux. His nanotech arc reactor was hidden under his dress shirt, but he'd been expressly forbidden from wearing the armor at any point during the day. Maggie followed Tony's gaze to his guests.

Pepper and Tony had decided to have a private ceremony – it was taken for granted that at least some part of their wedding would have to be a big public affair, but that would come later in the day at the reception. For now, the only guests in attendance were friends and family. There were no 'sides' either – guests sat where they liked. This meant that Pepper's parents, who looked slightly overwhelmed by everything, were sitting in the front row beside Vision and Wanda, who both looked lovely. A few seats away sat Steve, Sam, and Bucky. Steve was having some kind of non-verbal conversation with Tony, laughter in his eyes, and to his left Sam and Bucky seemed to be squabbling over how much space there was between their seats. As if sensing Maggie's gaze, Bucky looked up and smiled.

He looked… really good. He'd chosen a dark blue suit with a tie that was somehow the exact same color as his eyes, he'd trimmed his beard to frame his jaw, and he'd pulled his hair into that half-up half-down style that made Maggie a bit crazy. She swallowed, and Bucky's eyes glinted. As Maggie had discovered many years ago, Bucky was an objectively attractive man. He usually spent most of his days in comfort, opting for soft shirts and trousers, with his hair some level of ruffled. So seeing him all dressed up and groomed like this was still new for Maggie.

Bucky's eyes tracked down, over Maggie's well-tailored suit and back up to her face, and a grin spread across his face. Maggie smirked back, but then resolutely looked away. She would  _not_ be caught blushing in her duties as a grooms-person.

A row behind Steve, Bucky, and Sam sat a truly odd group. Maggie's eye was naturally drawn to Thor: he'd come back to Earth specially for the wedding, arriving in a blast of rainbow light at the Avengers Facility yesterday. He'd been busy at New Asgard and on his adventures with the Guardians, though he'd visited regularly – partly to discuss forming diplomatic connections with Earth governments, and partly to visit a certain astrophysicist (apparently surviving the imminent destruction of the universe had reshuffled priorities). He looked massive amongst the rest of the guests, even compared to Steve, and he stood out as a bright pop of color: he wore a bright red and silver Asgardian tunic that was almost dazzling in the sunlight. Jane Foster sat to his right, stunning in a silver dress that looked a little Asgardian, if Maggie guessed correctly. Beside her sat Darcy Lewis, who was still a little new to the superhero crowd: her eyes were wide behind her glasses as she stared at everyone.

Bruce sat on Thor's left, looking comically small next to the god. He actually looked very handsome in a tweed professorial suit, with a sleek purple dress shirt underneath. He was fiddling with his glasses as he facilitated a conversation between Thor and the two guests on his left: Peter and May Parker. Peter couldn't come to the reception, for secret identity reasons, but he'd come to the ceremony dressed in his best rental suit, excited to be a part of the day. He was wide-eyed as he spoke to Thor, and Maggie just knew from the look on his face that his mouth was running away from him. She smiled.

Clint and his family sat near Steve, Maria Hill chatted with Wong and Dr Strange, and Hope Van Dyne rubbed a lipstick mark off Scott Lang's cheek. A few other close friends that Pepper and Tony (mostly Pepper) had made over the years at Stark Industries sat in the spare seats, but mostly the group of guests was very small. And very powerful.

Though some of them seemed a little worse for wear: Maggie watched Sam reach up and rub his eyes as he yawned, and allowed herself a little smile. In retrospect they should have held the bachelorette and bachelor parties a few days before the wedding. But no one had anticipated that things would go quite the way they had.

 

* * *

 

"Alright, gentlemen – and lady – let's get this bachelor party started!"

Rhodey had somehow managed to find a limousine big enough to fit the male half of the Avengers plus Maggie. Still, it was a tight fit as they drove to New York. At the front of the limousine Tony took it upon himself to hand out whiskey tumblers to the "bachelors": Rhodey, Steve, Bruce, Vision, Sam, Clint, Thor, and Maggie. They were all smartly dressed for a night out. Tony had also invited Erik Selvig, but he'd enmeshed himself in some kind of genetic research (and the prospect of drinking with Thor had made the man look positively green). Maggie was squashed in between Thor (massive, talking loudly about 'odd mortal marital traditions) and Steve (almost as massive, politely trying to find out where they might be going).

Maggie didn't mind. This was the first wedding she'd ever attended and each new custom or tradition was endlessly fascinating: she couldn't wait to see what a bachelor party looked like, and as she understood it not many women got the opportunity. So she accepted her whiskey, settled in between the mountains of muscle and joined Thor in discussing Earth wedding customs. By the time they reached Manhattan she and Thor had asked no less than forty seven questions. The others didn't seem to mind. In fact they seemed amused by the joint curiosity from the alien god and the mortal super soldier, and everyone enjoyed Thor's retellings of Asgardian weddings he had been to. Almost every story seemed to end in tales of drunkenness and property damage – Maggie wasn't sure if this was an Asgardian custom or a Thor custom.

Steve continued to try to get Rhodey to explain what the night had in store for them. It seemed he shared the same (justified) concerns that the media and the world had about what Tony Stark's bachelor party might look like. Maggie laughed into her whiskey at Steve's polite anxiety. She was very aware of her brother's reputation thanks to the research she'd done about him while on the run, but the world hadn't quite caught on to the fact yet that Tony Stark wasn't the party animal playboy he used to be. He still enjoyed a party (if the blowout he was planning for the wedding reception was any indication) but he wasn't going to be trashing any hotel rooms any time soon.

"First bachelor location, two minutes away!" called Rhodey, and passed around the whiskey bottle. Steve went a little pale.

"Wait," said Clint, looking around at the collected heroes. "Where's Barnes?"

Everyone looked to where Maggie and Steve sat side by side. Maggie leaned back, thought better of it when she felt a little bit like she would disappear between Steve and Thor's mighty biceps, and propped her elbows on her knees. "He's with the bachelorette's party."

"Uh…"

She grinned. "Apparently it's weird to go on a bachelor or bachelorette party with someone you're dating."

Everyone turned to Tony and he put his hands up in surrender. "I didn't say that! I wanted Barnes to come."

"He didn't mind," Steve added with a smile. "He said he'd never been to a bachelorette party before and he wanted to see what all the fuss was about."

Sam leaned in. "Do you think they'll do all that stuff with the pink plastic penises that some bachelorette parties do?"

"They do  _what_ with penises?" said Thor and Maggie in unison.

 

When the nine sharply-dressed Avengers walked through a set of mahogany doors into a spacious dark-wood and blue-lit upscale bar, Maggie sensed Steve sigh a breath of relief beside her.

"Expecting strippers?" she asked bluntly, making him go bright red. Sam laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I, uh–"

"Oh Steve," Tony said genially, stepping past and swanning his way across the bar. "If there were going to be strippers, I would  _definitely_ have been filming your reaction. But despite the fine work those ladies and gentlemen do, those days are behind me." Rhodey pointed out their private booth with a view of the city, and Tony waved them all in. "Besides, if anyone's stripping tonight it's going to be me!" he announced to their horror.

 

Over the course of the evening Rhodey led them on a surprisingly laid back bar crawl through New York City, going from penthouse bars to dives to casinos. For a couple of hours they played poker, laughing at each other's poker faces and betting anything except money (Maggie lost her favourite welding torch to Tony, and Tony lost a private jet to Clint). Thor got really into the whole thing after a few bars, and started calling the party a 'tavern conquest'. Bruce and Vision were sober, obviously, Sam and Clint were well on their way to drunk, and Rhodey wasn't close behind. As Sam started to tell colorful stories about Steve's hard-headedness in battle to  _much_ appreciation, Steve started to cast hopeful looks in Thor's direction. At the third such look, Thor let out a roaring laugh and said:

"Yes, my friend, I did bring my personal elixir. I'd forgotten how much you enjoyed it last time. Would you like some?"

Steve almost sagged in relief. "Yes, please. Oh wait… Maggie, you've, um… you've got the super soldier serum too, right?"

Perched at the bar they were currently drinking their way through, Maggie looked over. "Sure do. Wait –  _wait_ , is this…" her eyes widened as Thor pulled a small, engraved silver flask from his Asgardian tunic. "Tony told me about this," she breathed, and met Steve's eyes. "It's Asgardian liquor, right? It can get us drunk?"

Steve held out his drink for a splash of the disarmingly clear liquid and Thor nodded sagely to Maggie. "This was aged for a thousand years in the barrels built from the wreck of Brunhilde's fleet." His mouth quirked. "It will get you drunk."

She held out her beer.

The exchange had drawn the attention of the rest of the men, and Rhodey laughed. "Maggie's first ever time getting drunk? Now this I  _have_ to see."

"Excuse you," Maggie said primly as she sniffed her doctored drink. "This will not be my first time."

"But you've got the… the super soldier metabolism, right?" asked Clint. She nodded and took a long draw from her beer. "So unless you were getting drunk when you were  _five_ …?"

Maggie raised her eyebrows as a light, tingly sensation flooded through her limbs.

Tony cleared his throat. "Maggie is a Stark, gentlemen. When she wants to get drunk, there's no level of science nor genetically-altered physiology that can stop her." He held up his whiskey and Maggie toasted him with a smirk.

"How did you do it?" asked Bruce, pushing his glasses up his nose and leaning in.

Maggie downed the rest of her drink and blinked when her skin seemed to grow hotter, and her mind  _fizzed_. "Well when it comes down to metabolism it's all about kidney function, right? So I synthesized this–"

"Nope!" called Rhodey. "I'm installing my first rule of the bachelor party: no discussions about kidney function."

"That's fair," she shrugged. "Thor, can I have more of that stuff?"

"It would be my honor."

As Thor poured more Asgardian liquor into the nearest drink he could find (a banana daiquiri), Rhodey cleared his throat.

"Hey, everyone!" he called. Nine super-powered heads jumped up. He cleared his throat. "We're all here tonight on this tavern conquest" – Thor laughed and clapped Maggie on the shoulder, almost knocking her out of her seat – "because a certain someone we all know is getting married tomorrow." Tony put up his hand, just in case they weren't aware. Rhodey grinned. "Tony, do you remember the first time we met?"

Tony leaned toward Vision and loudly whispered: "ooh, this is getting romantic."

Rhodey rolled his eyes. "The first time I ever saw you was in Introduction to Mechanical Engineering, 1986." Maggie shot a  _wow, that's a long time ago_  look at Steve, but then realized that he was literally a hundred years old and felt awkward. Rhodey continued: "I remember looking at this scrawny, mouthy sixteen year old verbally eviscerating our professor, and thinking  _Jesus, this kid is never going to make any friends._ " Everyone laughed, but Rhodey held up his free hand. "Well, Tony. I'm very happy to admit that I was wrong." He gestured at the bar packed with Avengers – friends – and everyone's laughter turned into warm smiles. Tony raised his glass in a silent toast to them all.

Rhodey smiled again. "I think I speak for all of us when I say: Tony, I can't wait to see you get married to, frankly, the best thing that ever happened to you. I was there when you and Pepper first kissed–"

"And you're a treasured part of the memory," Tony shot back.

"– and I'm sure that the two of you have a lot of happiness in your future." Tony looked to be gearing up to derail Rhodey's speech, so Rhodey quickly finished up: "bachelors" – he raised his glass, and they followed suit – "let's do this just once because he's already got a big enough head as it is. To Tony!"

"To Tony!" they echoed, and downed their drinks.

Tony got to his feet. "I'd like to say a few words."

"Oh, here we go," Rhodey said as he fell into the seat beside Maggie. "Can't see a speech being done without adding your own, huh?"

"It's my bachelor party, you're meant to be nice to me," Tony replied.

"That's not in the rules."

Tony wheeled and faced the well-past tipsy Avengers. "Friends," he began. "Sisters," he added, raising his glass to Maggie. "Former co-workers," he raised his eyebrows at Clint, who flipped him off. "I never thought I'd ever have a bachelor's party, because I never saw myself getting married. But on the odd time I did think about it, I envisioned…" he spread his hands, as if setting the scene. "A week-long, booze-fueled, sex and rock and roll extravaganza. Probably in the Bahamas, but I'm not fussy." He gestured around himself. "But in deference to Steve's elderly sensibilities–"

"Fuck off, Stark."

A chorus of  _oooh_ s went around the bar, and Maggie doubled over laughing.

Tony pressed a hand to his chest. "Oh my, Rogers. Something changed in you when you grew that beard, I knew it." Now it was Steve's turn to flip Tony off, and Tony cackled. "Anyway," he went on. "This isn't at all what I pictured, but I've got to say it's pretty awesome. Cranky centenarians aside.  _However_ –" everyone paused, hanging on to his next word. Tony lifted his drink meaningfully. "There needs to be about seventy percent more drinking happening. So bottoms up Avengers!"

They all cheered and drank again, and Maggie laughed at the sensation of  _disorientation_. Thor's stuff was no joke.

"And now we're hitting the dance floor!" Tony called over the noise. "Maggie, get Steve so he doesn't run away!"

Steve escaped Maggie's grasp but was caught by Thor, and the Stark bachelor party spilled onto the dance floor.

 

They took Manhattan by storm, dancing and drinking their way through bar after bar. They got periodic updates from the bachelorette party (which was somewhere in NYC too) in the form of texts and photographs. There didn't seem to be any pink plastic penises in the photos, but Maggie and the others got a kick out of one photograph of the group of them: Pepper, Natasha, Happy, Bucky, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, Wanda, Maria Hill, and Pepper's assistant Caroline, all wearing gold party hats and sipping from pink mimosas. They sent back a photo of the bachelors playing pool.

At midnight, Rhodey slung his arm around a very intoxicated Sam and shouted: "To the party boat!"

"To the  _what_?" exclaimed Steve.

 

From: Bucky  
_Doll, we're doing something called drunk yoga. People have so much more time to come up with weird things in this century. I love it._

From: Maggie  
_Who's best at it? I bet Natasha._

From: Bucky  
_Maria's giving her a run for her money. Darcy's given up on the yoga part of drunk yoga._   _Everyone still alive on your end?_

From: Maggie  
_Party boat!_ (attached photograph: a selfie of Maggie and Vision in front of a small ferry lit up with fairy lights.)

From: Bucky  
_Oh, that's going to go terribly. Vision knows how to swim, right?_

 

The boat took them out into the New York harbor as the bachelor party continued to drink, dance, and sing off-key renditions of ABBA songs (Clint). Maggie and Thor had a drunken conversation about his new Asgardian settlement and Maggie thought she figured something out about interdimensional portals but she'd have to check the validity of the science when she was sober. She danced with Vision, Sam, and Rhodey on the top deck of the party boat, and showed off her rapping skills. Steve, Bruce, Vision, and Tony played beer pong, which broke up when Bruce went to mix cocktails for everyone, and Sam and Tony made a bet on who could eat more cheese balls in a minute. Maggie zoned out for a minute, only to find that Steve had apparently decided to end a debate by showing how long he could do a handstand for.

Maggie was drunk on alien liquor, warm and happy on the small boat filled with friends. The lights of New York City were bright on the dark water, there was music in her ears and she was surrounded by a group of really weird, really awesome guys. She'd read somewhere that bachelor parties were to celebrate the 'last night of being unattached' but this didn't feel like that – it felt like a celebration of the future, of the man Tony had become and who he would grow to be. It felt like a celebration of love. She found herself tearing up over the thought and had to remind herself that alcohol lowered emotional inhibitions.  _I'll keep an eye on that._

As she hazily watched Thor arm wrestle Vision, her phone rang. She picked up without checking the screen.

"Margaret Abigail Stark, first of her name speaking."

"… hi, doll."

"Bucky!" she pulled the phone away from her ear. "It's Bucky!" she shouted to no one in particular, and across the deck Steve waved with a dopey smile on his face. She put the phone back to her ear. "Bucky! Steve says hi!"

"Hi Steve," he said wryly. "How are you guys going?"

"Thor has  _booze_ , Bucky!  _Booze_! Hooch! Moonshine!"

"It is called  _Óðroerir_ ," Thor said helpfully.

"You heard him, Othro – othra…  _booze_! I got drunk! And not sad scientific drunk!"

Bucky's laugh melted over the line, and Maggie felt a rush of heat to her face.  _Hoo boy._ She blinked away the feeling as he spoke again: "Uh, is there anyone sober around?"

"Not if I can help it! Wait, Tony's not all that drunk."

"Why not?"

"Doesn't like it much any more," she explained. "I mean he's not  _sober_ but he's not  _plastered_."

"Alright, put him on."

"Why?"

"No reason."

She crossed the deck to where Tony stood at a railing with Bruce, and waved the phone at him. He took it from her with a quirked brow and answered "this is the better looking sibling, how can I help you?"

Maggie decided to lie down on the deck. Bruce lay down next to her and they looked up at the stars for the duration of the phone call, in which Tony laughed a lot and then for some reason gave Bucky the name and number of the Avengers contact in the NYPD. After about five minutes Tony hung up, and turned back to see all the male Avengers eyeing him.

He snorted and handed Maggie her phone. "So," he said. " _Apparently_ the bachelorette party has taken out a portion of the New York Yakuza."

The party boat erupted with questions and exclamations, and Tony just started laughing again. "A couple of them figured out that the bar they were at was a front for weapons dealers, and things unfolded from there. There was a small battle in the Upper East Side – don't look so panicked, they're all fine – and a few of them got arrested in the confusion, but it's all squared away now."

"Do they need us to come get them?" Rhodey asked.

"Apparently not, they just needed to sort things out with the NYPD. They're heading to another bar to finish the night off."

They all stood around in silence for a few moments. Still sitting on the deck, Maggie smirked at the look on Tony's face.

"You want to shut down a gang now too, don't you?"

He grinned at her. "Nope, I'm perfectly happy knowing that my beautiful wife is the scourge of New York's underbelly." He looked tipsy and happy, and Maggie laughed.

"She's not your wife yet, remember. That's kind of the point of tonight."

He waved a hand. "Formalities."

"You're adorable," said Clint. Tony didn't dispute it.

 

They sat for the rest of the boat ride on the prow of the deck, clinking beer bottles and lazily trading jokes and memories.

As they headed back to port, Maggie noticed that she hadn't seen Tony in a while. So she got to her feet and stalked through the party boat, occasionally knocking into walls, until she came to the top deck and spotted him at the very front railing, eyes on the city.

She tried to sidle up beside him silently, but the effect was ruined when she knocked her elbow into the railing and accidentally trod on Tony's toes.

"Ow."

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Don't be sorry," he said, with a grin spreading across his face. He spread his arms. "I'm getting married tomorrow!"

She returned his grin. "I know, I got the invite."

He put his hands on her shoulders, suddenly serious, and shook her gently. "Maggie. Maggie. Maggie."

"Yes Tony."

"You know Pepper."

"We've met."

"I just…" he pulled his hands away and ran them over his face. When he pulled them away, he looked astounded. "I just love her  _so much_."

Maggie smiled at him, taking in his wide eyes and poleaxed expression. She saw the truth of his statement written all over his face, and it made her heart glow.

 

* * *

 

Standing on a Tribeca rooftop in a suit, Maggie saw that same expression on her brother's face: awe, trepidation, excitement, and  _love_. Then she realized that the small orchestral arrangement had struck up a new tune, and she turned to face the aisle.

The first to emerge from the doors at the other end of the rooftop was Happy – he was Pepper's brides-person, and he looked perfectly handsome in a suit that was a little more fancy than what he usually wore to work. If the way his eyes darted as he strode up the aisle was anything to go by, he wasn't leaving the event's security up to Tony's private security firm either. After Happy came Natasha, the 'friend-of-honor' (because she had flat out refused to be called a maid), looking stunning in a sea foam green gown the same shade of Maggie, Rhodey, and Happy's ties. Her eyes glinted as she strode up the aisle.

And then.

"Turtledove has arrived," Maggie murmured under her breath, just to make Tony and Rhodey laugh.

Pepper had chosen an elegant, backless ivory dress with a sheer lace floral pattern over the white gown. She looked as refined and poised as an empress, with her head held high and her strawberry blonde hair arranged in a braided updo. Her emergence from the rooftop doors inspired gasps amongst the small crowd, and Maggie could only find one word to describe how she looked:  _stunning._

And sure enough, the look on Tony's face was stunned. He swayed back a little as he took her in, and Maggie smiled as his thunderstruck expression transformed into a soft look of awe.

He took a breath. "Hoooo boy."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Next chapter: the actual ceremony! The reception! Speeches! Crying!
> 
> IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, after I post the second part of this one I think I'm going to go on hiatus for real. I realized I need to have a bit of a break to wait for Endgame and figure out what I'm going to do after that. I really love writing these one shots but I'm not sure what Endgame holds or where I'm going to take the storyline of the Wyvern, so I figure it's best to wait and see what I'll do with this universe. Depending on how things go I might just incorporate the content of some of these one shots into the main storyline.  
> I do have some more one shots written but I'm going to hang on to them for now. And you never know, I might end up working on some of my other planned projects in the meantime! Thanks for all your lovely comments and enthusiasm, you guys are really the best x


	2. Part Two

"You alright man?" Rhodey murmured. "You nervous?"

Tony shook his head emphatically. "Hell no, she's… she's not walking fast enough, shouldn't she be up here by now?"

Pepper smiled up at Tony as if she knew exactly what he was muttering to his best man, and took her sweet time striding between the rows of their gathered friends. Music lilted through the breeze, and the sun shone on the golden strands of Pepper's hair.

When she smiled at her seated parents and then came to take her place beside Tony, everyone in the audience beamed at the sight of them taking each other in.

Tony didn't seem to know where to look. "Wow. Are you sure you're here to marry me? Because I don't know what I  _ever_ did to deserve–"

With laughing eyes Pepper pressed a finger against his lips. "I'm sure."

The officiant cleared her throat. "Welcome, family, friends and loved ones." Everyone stilled. "We are gathered here to celebrate the wedding of Tony and Pepper."

The ceremony itself was very simple. The officiant said a few words about love, trust, and mutual respect, and then turned her attention to Tony and Pepper. They stood facing each other, their hands clasped together. She nodded at Tony.

"Do you, Anthony Edward Stark, take this woman to be your wedded wife?"

Maggie had half expected him to be glib, to grin and say  _sure_  or something, but Tony did nothing of the sort. He looked right into Pepper's eyes and said: "I do," in a tone that said so much more. Pepper smiled.

"Do you, Virginia Potts, take this man to be your wedded husband?"

Her smile widened. "I do."

The officiant nodded. "I understand you've prepared vows?"

"Right." Pepper's eyes crinkled and she smiled at Tony, dozens of unsaid things in the look. She couldn't seem to wipe the smile from her face, even as she cleared her throat and took a breath. Maggie grinned at the two of them. Of course Pepper didn't need note cards to deliver her vows, the woman was a world-class CEO with years of experience giving speeches.

Pepper met Tony's eyes. "Tony."

"Pepper," he said reflexively, and the audience laughed.

"We've never been very traditional," she began, her blue eyes fixed on Tony. "I run your old company, you fight bad guys for a living. We've been through aliens, and robots, and dozens of other challenges big and small. Through it all, I have loved being your friend, and your partner. You're the most remarkable person I've ever met." She shook her head at him fondly. "We've never been very traditional, but we've tried to be. We've said over and over again that there'll be no more surprises, that from now on things will be  _normal_." She leaned in. "But I don't want that. I love being surprised by you and this… frankly crazy life that we have. I…" she opened and closed her mouth. "Damn, I really thought I knew what I wanted to say." Tony's mouth curled up as Pepper rolled her eyes at herself. She took a breath, then met his eyes again. Her next words were low, as if she only wanted Tony to hear them. "I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So I thought, for today, I'd offer you a traditional wedding vow."

Peppers fingers tightened around Tony's. "I,  _Pepper_ Potts, take you, Tony Stark, to be my husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live."

When she smiled to signal that she was done Tony darted forward and kissed her, only jumping back when the officiant said: "we're not at that part yet!" He grinned unashamedly at Pepper, and she reached up to cover her mouth as she laughed.

"Alright, my turn?" Tony raised his eyebrows at the officiant, who gestured for him to continue. With a flourish, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a set of notecards.

Pepper raised an eyebrow.

Tony cleared his throat dramatically and glanced down at his first card. "Pep, I'm sure you're kind of nervous about what I've prepared to say right now–" she shook her head. "Oh, that's brave of you."

Everyone laughed, and Tony's eyes twinkled. "You've always been brave. I've, uh, prepared these cards…" he waved them. "But instead, how about this:" he turned and handed the cards to Rhodey, who took them with a long-suffering expression.

Tony turned back. "I think everyone here knows that I'm at my most honest when I veer off the prepared script." That earned him more chuckles, and Pepper shook her head at him again. Tony squared his shoulders and took Pepper's hands. "Pepper. I could say a whole lot about how amazing you are, how you're much smarter than me in all the ways that count, how you're strong, and brave, and how you've always seen through all the masks I've chosen to wear." 

_Awww_ , went the crowd. Maggie glanced out to see Steve and Bruce already crying, and then realized that Rhodey and Happy were not that far off from tears either. Tony continued: "You also give great head massages. I could talk for hours, and you know better than most that I am  _very_ capable of doing that. But I don't need to. I'm here to make a vow." He took a breath. "I haven't made a lot of promises in my life – and never a vow. Most of my promises have been to  _protect_ : to protect this country, or the world, or you." His dark eyes were earnest as they looked into Pepper's face. "And I do vow to protect you, with everything I have. But that's not all. I vow to be your friend, and your partner. I vow to honor, respect, and trust you, and to take pride in each of your remarkable achievements. Because you are the best thing that ever happened to me. Because of all the things I've done in my life, nothing will ever be as important as being your husband. I love you." He looked right into her eyes, and for a moment it was as if there was no one else on that rooftop with the two of them. Then Tony swallowed. "So let's get on with it already."

Maggie heard a few teary sniffs amidst the low laughter that followed, but she didn't tear her eyes away from Tony and Pepper's faces. She'd never been to a wedding. She hadn't imagined it could be like  _this:_ so… honest.

The officiant stepped forward. "May I have the rings please?"

Rhodey reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a simple black box. As the officiant opened the box and handed the first simple silver band to Pepper, a smile crept up Maggie's face.

 

* * *

 

Maggie had been in the meeting room with the rest of the wedding party when Tony had the idea. They'd been discussing ideas for the ceremony itself, when all of a sudden Tony got to his feet and walked out without a word. Maggie had exchanged glances with Pepper and Natasha, her eyebrows raised. But then they'd all just shrugged it off as a Tony oddity and continued with planning. Happy and Rhodey were in the middle of a vehement debate about the color scheme for the rooftop when Tony walked back in, carrying a glass box with what looked like a prototype miniature arc reactor inside it.

He placed it on the table in front of Pepper, and Maggie leaned over to look.  _Proof that Tony Stark has a heart_ , read an inscription around the reactor.

"That's the first one you ever made, right? In Afghanistan?" said Rhodey.

Tony ignored them: he had eyes only for Pepper. "I would've thrown this thing out the first chance I got, but you saved it."

Pepper smiled and traced the glass. "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart," she murmured.

"You were right," Tony said frankly. "You're always right. So I thought… why not make our wedding rings out of this?"

Her eyes widened.

Tony continued: "To keep that proof. Proof that I have a heart, and… proof that it'll always be yours."

Pepper shot to her feet and threw her arms around Tony's neck. Maggie turned to Rhodey and mimed sticking her finger down her throat, but Rhodey just smiled tearfully. Even Natasha looked a little softer around the eyes. Happy was already crying.

Maggie rolled her eyes, looked back to the prototype arc reactor, and started thinking about the best way to melt it down.

 

* * *

 

The titanium alloy bands gleamed in the sunlight as the officiant handed them over, and Pepper and Tony shared a private smile.

Pepper slipped the larger ring onto Tony's long, callused finger as she murmured: "With this ring, I thee wed."

Tony flipped the other ring in the air before catching it deftly and sliding it onto Pepper's finger with surprising gentleness. "With this ring, I thee wed."

The officiant beamed at the two of them. "By the power vested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife.  _Now_ , Mr Stark, you may kiss the bride."

Tony didn't get a chance to 'kiss the bride' because the minute the officiant had said the word  _wife_ Pepper had darted forward and pressed her lips to Tony's, kissing him as she smiled.

 

In the rush of taking photos after the ceremony, Maggie saw Tony pull Peter aside for a moment. They spoke for less than a minute, but they exchanged a laugh and then Peter wrapped his lanky arms around his mentor, just for a moment. He pulled away without seeing the war between affection and surprise on Tony's face, and turned to congratulate Pepper.

Maggie smiled to herself. Peter couldn't officially be a part of today – couldn't appear in any of the photos, couldn't go to the reception with the rest of them. But Maggie was positive that Tony and Pepper would never forget that a certain wide-eyed teenage boy had been a part of their day.

"Are you alright, Ms Stark?"

Maggie blinked, and turned to see Peter and his aunt by her side. May wasn't paying attention, though, as she was in the middle of a conversation with Happy. "Hm?"

"You've got some, um…" Peter gestured at his own face awkwardly, and shuffled his feet.

Maggie touched her cheeks. "Oh, tears." She wiped them away and smiled at her damp fingers. "Y'know Peter, sometimes I get used to my life. But then I realize that five years ago, the concept of crying from happiness at my brother's wedding would have been… impossible. Unthinkable." She grinned. "It makes these tears  _important_."

"If you say so..."

Maggie would have been surprised by Bucky swooping in to kiss her cheek if she hadn't sensed him coming from yards away. She pretended to scowl at him, and he settled his metal arm around her waist.

"Stop traumatizing the poor boy, Meg. Teenagers are allergic to adults crying."

"I- I don't mind," Peter stammered.

"Liar," she teased. "I'm glad you could come, Peter. I think it meant a lot to Tony."

"Yeah, he… he said so." Peter scratched the back of his neck.

"He did?" Maggie blinked, but then shook herself. Of course he had – Tony was surrounded by people he trusted and loved, on the day he'd married the love of his life. What better time for honesty?

May called Peter away to say their final goodbyes, and Maggie turned into Bucky's arms. His dark suit was warm from the sun, and the ends of his hair tickled her face as she looked into his sea-grey eyes.

"I love you," she said softly.

He nudged his nose against hers. Normally they avoided PDA like the plague, but… everyone was watching Tony and Pepper anyway. "I love you too."

"Maggie!" shouted Tony. "The man said we're taking wedding party photos, get over here and look photogenic or you're fired!"

Maggie and Bucky laughed against each other's mouths, and she turned away to go smile for the wedding photographer. And if Tony had bunny ears in a few of the shots, that was something for him to find out when he and Pepper went through the wedding album.

 

* * *

 

Where the ceremony had been a quiet family affair, the reception was a massive star studded party. This was partly because it was expected, partly because for all his growth Tony still liked a big party, and partly because it would help strengthen their connections in the business and political worlds.

They'd booked the Grand Ballroom in the Plaza Hotel; a massive, opulent room shining with dazzling lights, chandeliers, and glowing candles at each table. The room itself was all marble and stone, but the decorators had also given it an outdoor feel with verdant boughs of foliage arranged around the space. The decorations hadn't been planned to make the reception look like "Iron Man's Wedding", but Maggie didn't feel like that part of their lives was missing – there was little hints of it, from Pepper's stunning red lips, to the gold lining the ballroom, to the arc reactor whose glow was hidden under Tony's tuxedo. Maggie saw Pepper lay her hand over the arc reactor sometimes, as if to check that it was still there.

After Tony and Pepper's predictably grand entrance, Maggie sat at the long wedding party table with them and the other grooms-and-brides-people. But as the volume in the room began to increase around them, she turned her gaze to the guests.

She recognized more than a few of them, but not because she knew them: this wedding was the place to be for business people, politicians, and all the higher ups of New York and the United States. The President was in attendance, as well as a few members of the British Royal Family. The instantly-recognizable faces reminded Maggie of just how important Tony and Pepper were in the world. T'Challa and a Wakandan cohort (they couldn't make it to the ceremony) sat at a table with some of the Avengers, Thor had been seated with some members of the UN (Maggie planned to go check on his diplomatic relationship building later), and Dr Strange and Wong were at a table with some very well-natured celebrities who even Strange couldn't piss off.

 

* * *

 

Several months ago, Maggie had walked in on one of Tony and Pepper's many wedding planning sessions.

"– but we can't seat  _him_  within two tables of Dr Capriot because of the thing in Senegal–"

"Yeah but what then, are you going to put him with the  _socialites_?"

Maggie had cast an eye over their frenzied discussion and the mountain of notes, profiles, and seating plans spread on the table. She cleared her throat. "This all seems… very complicated. I've put less planning into missions than you two are putting into the seating alone."

"Oh, this  _is_ a mission," Pepper said with a grim face. "How to mix all the individual components here to create the  _least_ explosive mixture."

Maggie glanced at Tony, who looked about three seconds from tearing his hair out.

"Well… happy mission planning."

 

* * *

 

But now, in the glittering Plaza ballroom, Maggie could only say that everything was going perfectly. There were no fights, no raised voices, only drinking and good times. She smiled.  _Maybe we ought to get Pepper in on our mission planning._

There was time to mingle in between speeches and other little wedding traditions, so Maggie drifted through the crowd. She eavesdropped on conversations between world leaders, laughed under her breath at Happy as he carried out his emcee duties (he was stuffy and formal, and Tony and Pepper clearly loved it), and chatted with her own connections from all walks of life. As dinner was served Maggie hung over the back of Bucky's chair and chatted with the Avengers, while Bucky traced patterns on the back of her hand. Vision seemed fascinated by the spectacle of a  _wedding_ , Bruce looked like he was trying to fade into the background, and Sam and Steve were loudly arguing about  _something_ (wedding menus?) while Natasha cast dry, witty barbs in their direction. The more media-shy members of the Avengers seemed a little overwhelmed, but it helped that there were so many of them – when the noise and the lights got too much, the others stepped in.

On her way back to her table (leaving a bright red parting kiss on Bucky's cheek) Maggie drifted past Thor, who was having a remarkably insightful discussion with the United Nations Secretary General (in French, thanks to Thor's Allspeak) about the legal complications of recognizing Asgard as a member of the UN. She paused to politely interrupt and greet the Secretary General and say that she was sorry his wife couldn't come (they'd met at a fundraising function last year). She then left, but not before squeezing Thor's shoulder and saying: "I hope we see more of you around here, Thor. Everyone feels safer for having you around." Thor bowed his head with a knowing glint in his eye, and she returned to the wedding party.

Dinner passed in a blur of good food, laughter, bubbly champagne, and trading nonverbal communication across the ballroom with Bucky – he was shining in his corner of the room, bringing out the charming Bucky Barnes who had made half of prewar Brooklyn fall in love with him. The politicians and celebrities who'd never seen Bucky as more than the Winter Soldier at first warmed to him, and by the time the dinner plates were cleared they were laughing along and talking about their childhoods as if they'd known him their whole lives. Steve looked like he might spontaneously combust from excitement.

The wedding cake was tall and terraced, with an elegant gold ribbon around the base of each layer. When Pepper and Tony stood up to cut it they hit a button on the table which made the cake come to life: each layer shivered and then separated cleanly, hovering on metal plates. Within seconds each layer was neatly separated in midair, while the bright gold light of the hovering plates made the cake look like it was glowing.

The guests gasped and applauded, and Pepper grinned at Tony as if this was the best thing he'd ever invented. Maggie smiled as she recalled the long hours in the workshop she and Tony had spent together, working out how to make a non-heat-generating repulsor that wouldn't melt the icing. Pepper and Tony leaned in to cut the first slice.

And then came time for speeches. Pepper's father was visibly nervous because of the large, illustrious crowd, but his short speech was packed with sheer affection for his incredible daughter. Next came Rhodey, who earned a few wolf whistles (from the Avengers) as he stood and shuffled his notes. Rhodey's speech was complete with plenty of teasing, but ended as a heartfelt testament to Tony and Pepper's growth together as people and his well wishes for their future. He made a few people cry. Natasha's friend-of-honor speech didn't have quite the sentimental weight that Rhodey's did, but she showed just how much she noticed about people as she described Pepper and Tony's characters, and how they worked together as a couple. Maggie had been a little worried that her speech would come off a little like an intelligence report, as that had been the context in which she'd met the couple, but there was no mistaking that this speech came from a friend.

Once everyone had raised their glasses after Natasha's speech, Maggie got to her feet and took the microphone from the blonde ex-assassin.

"You'll be great," Natasha murmured, as if she could sense the nerves thrumming up and down Maggie's spine. Maggie had spoken publicly quite a few times by now, but this was different. This was for  _Tony._

Maggie cleared her throat and looked up, taking in the glittering lights and expectant faces. On the other side of the room Bucky held one metal and one flesh thumb in the air. She took a breath.

"Hi everyone. I know... I know it's usually just the best man who gives a speech, but I think you'll all agree that Rhodey's speech was terrible so I thought I'd make up for it." Everyone laughed, and in the small relief that gave her Maggie grinned down at Rhodey. He rolled his eyes. She cleared her throat again and glanced at Pepper and Tony – Pepper smiled encouragingly, Tony was busy silently making fun of Rhodey.

"I've known my brother for roughly… eight years of my life," she continued. "That's another story, you might have heard about it, never mind. Now, people will tell you lots of things about Tony Stark. They'll tell you that he's arrogant. That he's difficult to work with, egotistical, a terrible businessman and frankly a bit of a showoff." She paused, and those in the room who knew Tony traded glances. "Now of course that's all true–" Maggie grinned in the laughter that followed, and caught the dessert spoon that Tony threw at her. She winked.

"But I think we all know that's not the entire story. I  _idolized_ my brother when I was a little girl. He was smart, and funny, and got to go wherever and do whatever he wanted. But I didn't really know him. Then when we got a second chance years later, I think that's when I finally got to know him. And I realized things about him: Tony Stark is… a genius, yes. He's also a hero. I'd say most people know that about him too. He's also  _incredibly_ sneaky. Because under the Iron Man mask there's a man who's  _kind_ , and funny, a huge dork who's smart in a way that has nothing to do with IQ points. He's forgiving, and patient, and so loyal that he'll put his life on the line for the people he deems worthy of protecting. And he deems  _humanity_ worthy. He's seen the worst and the best of us and he still puts himself on the front line to defend us all."

She looked out at the crowd, and watched people look from her to Tony with appraisal. As if they were realizing that she was  _right._ "Tony Stark is an Avenger, but at his heart… he's a defender." She swallowed. "I came to learn this after meeting my brother again a few years ago. I think it's a truth that very few people know. But you know who saw that in Tony, years before he ever busted out of an Afghanistan cave with an idea that would change the world?" She turned, and smiled at a damp-eyed Pepper. "Pepper Potts."

The room  _awwww_ ed. Tony cocked his head and looked from his sister to his wife, a half-smile on his lips.

"Pepper Potts has always seen the best in Tony, even when he made it difficult to find. So I… I want to thank you, Pepper. You are one of the kindest, most generous people I've ever had the fortune to meet in my rollercoaster life, and I want to thank you for seeing my brother. The first time I saw the two of you together – remember that? Yeah, not a great moment for any of us, but I could already see then how the two of you just  _fit._  You bring out the best in each other, and that's an incredible thing to find."

Pepper and Tony reached for each other's hands.

Maggie cleared her throat again. "Now I'm sure we've all heard quite enough about love for one evening, but I'll finish by saying this: I've lived an odd, upside down kind of life. I only figured out what love was when I was twenty eight years old, but once I found out about it I made sure to do my research." She paused as the guests laughed.

"I was very thorough," she informed them. "I looked into the science and the chemicals behind love, and I read up extensively on the dynamics of a healthy, long-lasting relationship." She heard Bucky laugh loudly. "Seriously. I knew nothing about love, so I was determined to learn everything."

She turned to face the newly married couple. "So what I'm about to tell you, Tony and Pepper, I tell you from an empirically-based standpoint: I don't have to wish you happiness, or trust, or growth as you embark on your marriage. I don't have to hope that you will continue to treat each other with mutual respect and support. Because I already know that you will." She raised her glass. "To Pepper and Tony!"

"To Pepper and Tony!" shouted the crowd, and Maggie set down her microphone triumphantly. She was about to take her seat when she felt two pairs of arms wrap around her and envelop her in big, damp, hug. Maggie stiffened, then relaxed into it. Pepper was crying, and after a few moments she pressed a scarlet kiss against Maggie's cheek. Tony's eyes were damp too, and when he pulled away he muttered:

"You're such a dork, Maggot."

Maggie pulled him back in for a squeezing hug. "I learned it from my brother."

He held her for another second before pulling away, ruffling her hair, and swiping up the microphone: "Alright people, let's dance!"

 

Pepper and Tony danced together for the first time as a married couple to one of Pepper's favorite classical pieces, slow but still fast enough for them to laugh breathlessly together through the quicker steps. Pepper was obviously a little nervous about dancing in front of so many people, but Tony turned her with a grin and her nerves melted away. Maggie didn't think they'd looked away from each other for the entire song. They looked beautiful together, the years and trust and love between them plain to see.

In the closing notes Maggie hiccuped and brought a hand to her mouth, overwhelmed with emotion. Bucky squeezed her other hand as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

When the next song started up and people moved onto the dance floor, Bucky bent his head until his lips were right beside her ear.

"Feel like teaching me some moves?" he murmured. She turned to him with a slow smile.

 

The band was Pepper's favorite band, and for the rest of the night they covered wedding classics as well as adding some of their own stuff – their style was a jazz/modern mix, and Bucky really got into it. At one point Wanda got on stage and played guitar with them.

After a few dances with Bucky, Maggie snagged Pepper for a dance.

"So you're my sister-in-law now," Maggie grinned, one hand on Pepper's waist and the other squeezing Pepper's left hand.

Pepper beamed. "It's an honor. I've never had a sister."

"Neither have I," Maggie reflected. "I'll do some reading on what sisters are meant to do."

Pepper laughed at that, and Maggie spun her just to make her laugh harder. "I promise you that what we usually do with each other is enough," Pepper replied. "By the way, I really liked your speech. It was lovely."

"I do what I can," Maggie shrugged. "I meant everything I said. Congratulations, by the way."

Pepper beamed. Over Pepper's shoulder Maggie spotted Tony and Bucky standing side-by-side at the bar, watching the two of them dance. As she turned Pepper once more, Bucky said something which made Tony double over laughing.

Pepper and Maggie chatted about the wedding and the assembled guests for the rest of the song, until Tony stepped in and whirled Maggie into a dance. For the next few hours Maggie danced with a new person every song, until she'd made her way through all of the Avengers and most of their friends. Happy refused to dance ("I need to keep eyes on everyone"), so for the space of a song Maggie joined him in his vigil by the emcee podium. The moment was quiet. Maggie watched Pepper and Steve dancing, saw Tony and Thor chatting with a group of diplomats, smiled at the sight of Jane Foster dragging Bruce onto the dance floor. Natasha and Rhodey were  _foxtrotting_.

She glanced at Happy, who looked somber. "You okay, Happy?"

He blinked. "Yeah, yeah I am." He smiled at her. "I've been waiting for this day for so long."

She returned the smile. "First time I heard of Pepper's existence was when I was looking at Tony's Wikipedia page. This was about three seconds after I realized that he was still alive, so I wasn't thinking all that much about her. But then I did my research and… I liked everything I saw. It was hard to get at her character, but she seemed wonderful on paper. And then I met her and…" Maggie gestured to Pepper just as she looked over at Tony and smiled. "They deserve each other."

"That they do," Happy agreed, and his chest swelled with some mix of joy, pride, and satisfaction.

The next song started just as T'Challa walked by, flanked by powerful women in red and gold. Maggie clapped Happy on the shoulder. "See ya, Happy. I'm going to go dance with a king's bodyguard."

 

Throughout the night, people Maggie barely knew kept coming up to her and exclaiming "Oh, it'll be you next time!"

Each time, Maggie just smiled. She and Bucky were taking their time, finding their new normal and enjoying the simple pleasures of dating each other – they had all the time in the world. But if Maggie had learned anything since breaking away from HYDRA, it was that she didn't owe an explanation of her love life to anyone. So after a few moments of receiving no response from Maggie other than a bland smile, the stranger usually turned away to dance.

As the night wore on and the Asgardian liquor started to sink in (not an excessive amount tonight), Maggie and Bucky danced with each other more and more often. The liquor buzzed in their veins and the music rose and fell around them, and Maggie felt like she could fall asleep right there on the dance floor, with her head on Bucky's shoulder and his arms around her. His metal thumb traced circles in the small of her back.

After a few more songs, Happy picked up the microphone once more and announced that it was time for the bride to throw her bouquet.

Maggie picked her head up off Bucky's shoulder and quirked a brow at him. "I'm not going to catch it."

Bucky looked over at the women gathering in front of the podium where Pepper stood. "Mm, looks like some stiff competition."

She laughed. "Wait, do you  _want_ me to catch it?"

"Do you want me to want you to catch it?" he asked, his eyes gleaming.

"Do you want me to want you to want me to catch it?"

Bucky opened his mouth and got as far as "Do you want me to want–" when Pepper tossed her bouquet of lilies and rosemary over her shoulder.

But it turned out it didn't matter anyway, because as the bouquet soared through the air a flash of red light bloomed over the waiting women - and suddenly the flowers were in Wanda's hands. She shrugged with a small smile, and the group of women laughed and applauded her as if they'd just seen a magic trick (which in a way, they had). Bucky laughed under his breath and ducked to kiss Maggie on the cheek.

"One day," he murmured, and she looked up just in time to see the gleam in his eyes. She smirked and smoothed her hand up his metal arm.

"One day."

 

Toward the end of the night Tony and Pepper slipped unseen out of the ballroom (well, unseen by most). Maggie watched their grinning faces vanish from sight and murmured into her earpiece: "Turtledove and Tin Can have left the building", smiling to herself at the thought of the nondescript yellow cab that would drive the pair to a private airport on the other side of the city.

Pepper and Tony's honeymoon location was a closely guarded secret for security reasons, despite intense media interest. Luxury resorts around the world had been fielding questions about whether the illustrious couple would be staying with them.

But Maggie knew that there was a little cabin on a beachfront somewhere tropical, close to a little village where no one cared about Avengers or aliens, with not much other than a bed, a hammock, and enough food to last two people a couple of weeks.

"Send-off complete," Natasha murmured a few moments later, the audio a little crackly from wind, as if she were standing on a roof. "Over and out."

Maggie slipped back through the crowd to Bucky, who accepted her into his arms with a small smile. The band played a slow jazz piece, and couples on the dance floor swayed in time with the soft notes.

"Mission complete?" he murmured.

She leaned up to kiss him, and smiled as his hands found her waist. When she pulled away his blue-grey eyes were fixed on her.

"Mission complete," she echoed. Her smile curved into a smirk. "But I've got plenty of other missions."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all from me for a while, lovelies. Thanks for all your comments and support. I'm planning to do some prep and research for another fic project in the run up to Endgame, but I don't think I'll post anything just yet. Stay tuned for more after Endgame! (speaking of which, your friendly author is NERVOUS). Bye!


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